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January 25, 2016

Last week I skipped the Weekly Menu since it was a holiday week, and starting on Tuesday always throws me off a bit. But, here we are on a fresh new week!

We had a very recharging weekend - house is clean, fresh sheets on the beds and a cleaned out refrigerator. Whew - feels good to start Mondays like that. It doesn't always happen, but I'm so grateful when it does.

I indulged in some more $5 flowers over the weekend.

I find that these little touches of life really bring a brightness to my day. Seriously, the smallest things... why don't we do them more often?! I've been working on spending (and planning for and scheduling!) my time more intentionally... instead of flailing about, which is what I do too often. Tomorrow I'll share what my weekly calendar looks like and how I'm planning for me time, work time and family time. I also have a new helper to introduce to you this week... which should help tremendously with work time! Exciting things happening around here : )

1 x $5 spray roses from TJs = 2 pretty spots in our house

I loved how ruffly and pale pink these spray roses were. I'm resolving to keep a small fresh bunch on my bedside this year. The other bunch is beside my favorite chair in our hearth room. I also stole a few from these to put a single bloom in our powder room and by my computer in the office.

The hyacinth have come and gone on the mantle, so I put this little mini rose (actually pale pink, but looks white) in the planter. I love that the 4" pot from the grocery store (with flower and all) fits right into this planter.

Well, it is almost time fur us to go to the grocery store, so here is what is we'll be having for dinner this week :

Beef Drip Sandwiches with Twice Baked Sour Cream & Chive Potatoes

This is not diet food - but oh, my gosh is it good food. We were invited over to a friend's last week for Beef Drip Sandwiches, then the snow cancelled the evening... and I can't stop thinking about them!

Freezer Cooking : I'm going to make 10 baked potatoes tonight and turn them into twice baked, which will give me 20 (less the 3 we eat tonight) to go in the freezer. I'll also buy an extra bag of rolls and put them in the freezer with leftover meat.

I've been in the mood for Chive Biscuits. I'm going to make a batch for this recipe, then (you guessed it...) put some in the freezer for the weekend to make breakfast sandwiches.

Wednesday : My Free Night! I'll talk more about this tomorrow when I share my new weekly schedule. Basically, gifting myself 1 night off a week when Mike and Emma can hang out and I can do whatever I want. It might be dinner with friends, j.crew run, playing golf/tennis, or working at Starbucks - all by myself.

Pasta with Shrimp is a go-to around here. I keep a big bag of frozen shrimp from Costco in the freezer. It takes just minutes to defrost in cool water, then 2 minutes to cook... along with angel hair pasta that also cooks in 2 minutes. This entire meal literally takes 10 minutes to put together. Because I keep the shrimp in the freezer and always have pasta in the pantry, this is one of those "what can I make without going to the store" dinners. We all need some of those. Sometimes I improvise with olives instead of mushrooms, or even cherry tomatoes.

Friday or Saturday Night Pizza

Sometimes we order in, and sometimes we make! These are all of my favorite combinations... photo taken at our temporary apartment in Cambridge, Ma. 5 years ago. I love trip down the memory lane that digging up old posts brings.

Hope your Monday is off to a great start! Now, we're off to the grocery store : )